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The 5-foot-10, 184-pound Valera struck out just 34 times in his 424 at-bats this season, and led Memphis down the stretch by batting .346 with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 25 games in August. He was the club’s minor-league Player of the Month.

Valera has a career average in the minors, with a .359 on-base percentage. He has been named to three midseason All-Star Games (New York-Penn League in 2012, Midwest League in 2013 and the Florida State League 2014).

Valera will wear No. 41 and will become the 11th Cardinals player to debut this season when he appears in his first game.